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The Murder of Boris Nemtsov

Note from editors: The following editorial was published on the Russian leftist website Open Left in response to the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on Friday 27 February 2015.

We demand a transparent investigation and an immediate end to propaganda that incites hatred.

It’s difficult to say just yet how the Friday-night murder of Boris Nemtsov will change the situation in this country – but something will happen, without any doubt. Regardless of who pulled the trigger, this act of terror is inextricably tied to the unbridled and chauvinistic Kremlin propaganda that, for years now, has accompanied a foreign policy of aggression.

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On SYRIZA and its victory in the recent general elections in Greece

Note from the LeftEast editors: The following piece was composed prior to the most recent negotiations between the SYRIZA government and the EU. We republish it here not to contribute to the current crisis, but to facilitate comradely discussion and debate on the relevant political questions that emerged since January 25. We believe that the following article provides much needed background on the relationship between SYRIZA and the Greek social movements, and outlines the shift in the party’s policies since May-June 2012.

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The National Bourgeoisie vs. the State Apparatus. Reconfiguring the state in Romania

It is perhaps the first time that Romania’s ongoing corruption scandals are more than just a scandal. They offer the possibility for serious theoretical reflection about wider social transformations. However, it is not because recent events dramatically altered the situation in new ways, but the opposite: recent events, precisely by their familiarity, allow us to see the situation anew.

First, let me present, very briefly, the facts. Elena Udrea, an MP and former minister, was arrested on February 11 for several charges of corruption, after more than a week of intricate procedural formalities, including a late evening special session of the Parliament.

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Ukraine Agrees To Monsanto Land Grab For $17 Billion IMF Loan

By Christina Sarich, originally published at Rise Up Times.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) is helping biotech run the latest war in Ukraine. Make no mistake that what is happening in the Ukraine now is deeply tied to the interests of Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, and other big players in the poison food game.

Monsanto has an office in Ukraine. While this does not shout ‘culpability’ from every corner, it is no different than the US military’s habit to place bases in places that they want to gain political control.

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The illiberal democracy and the revanchist city – The spatial and political transformation of Budapest since 2010

“We need to give back public spaces to the citizens” – argued István Tarlós, the mayor of Budapest and a member of the nationalist-conservative Fidesz party when he tried to justify the city’s criminalizing of homelessness in most of its public spaces. The message here was clear: homeless people do not qualify for citizen status and therefore the city can legitimately banish them from spaces they could share with „the citizens”, who do not live in public spaces.

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Sosyalist Feminist Kolektif: Fighting for Women’s Rights in Turkey. An interview with Selin Cagatay.

Note from the LeftEast editors: The attempted rape, murder, and burning of 20-year-old university student Özgecan Aslan on Feb. 11th touched a nerve in a society where male-on-female violence has been a chronic problem. Massive demonstrations throughout Turkey followed soon after, but what will it take to stem the surge in  femicide over the last decade or so?

Mattia Gallo: Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said that women are not equal to men. His public statement is only one piece of a policy pursued by his party of conservative neo – liberalism, a policy that increases precarity and poverty for men and women, and which tries to control and subordinate the role of women.

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Syriza’s victory stirs the Left’s political imagination across Central, Eastern and South East Europe

Three weeks ago the Left celebrated Syriza’s victory. The plot has thickened since, and it will surely intensify further by the 28th of February when the EU-IMF bailout is due to expire. As the Greek drama unravels, it is those who are most supportive of Syriza that will judge it most critically. Asked by LeftEast’s Adela Gjorgjoska, nine left-wing activists from Central, Eastern and South East Europe evaluate its prospects, and how these might echo beyond political imagination into national and international action.

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Syriza’s victory and what comes next: Anastas Vangeli, Republic of Macedonia/Poland

“We can learn a lot from Syriza, work together with them and the other movements on the ground on issues such as social justice, solidarity and civic mobilization in border regions; developing cross-national strategies for inclusive economic development; as well as standing together for the rights of the growing number of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants that cross and are abused at the Greco-Macedonian border.”

Anastas Vangeli is a doctoral researcher at the Graduate School for Social Research at the Polish Academy of Science in Warsaw

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Syriza’s victory and what comes next: Jan Majicek, Czech Republic

“It is very hard for many people to imagine a left alternative to social democracy. As one friend told me recently: maybe it is time to found “Our Syriza”. It was a joke but it reflects the impact on the political imagination of many activists.”

Jan Májíček is a member of Socilistická Solidarita in the Czech Republic. He is a PhD student at the Department of Political Science, Charles University in Prague. He is an activist and a journalist.

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Syriza’s victory and what comes next: Alona Liasheva, Ukraine/Spain

“The average Ukranian either does not know about Syriza, because all his or her attention is on the war; or hates it, because it is somehow connected to Russia and because it is connected to communism.”

Alona Liasheva is an Urban Studies Master student focusing on migration and spatial segregation. She is a co-editor of Commons: Journal for Social Criticism.

 

1. What would it take for you to consider Syriza a success?

If they will be able to provoke a strong international left movement in Europe, joining all the left forces, it would be a true success.